Masters of the Universe

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2001 - Masters of the Universe

It is the distant future. Machines rule the stars, and humanity has been enslaved. Driven by logic and reason, the machines conquer entire galaxies with impunity. Yet, they live not in harmony. The very human desire for supremacy is alive and well among the machines, culminating every ten thousand years in the greatest contest the Universe has ever seen, a battle the machines call, "6.270".

The end of another ten thousand year cycle is nearly upon us. Assisted by only the most capable of their human servants, the machines will once again compete for Ultimate Power.

Come serve your robot overlord. Help it to become.. MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!!


The Playing Field

The layout of the contest table is shown in Figures 1 and 2. All measurements are guaranteed to be accurate to within 1/4 inches of the actual dimensions, though the only official measurements are those of the actual tables. The tables may also have seams, where sections of the table physically meet. Make sure your robot is capable of facing the imperfections of the board.

Figure 1

The surface base has a wall which runs around its perimeter. The board is divided into three regions---a white side on the right, a black side on the left, and a central strip. On either side of the central strip are troughs. In the middle of the central strip lies a square platform.

The robots begin on either side of the platform on the central strip. The patterns on the central strip assist the robot in determining which side it is on.

The balls located at various points on the table are 4 inches in diameter and consist of dense plastic.

One feature of the table that is not shown in the diagrams is a device that drops two more balls throughout the length of the match. At 20 seconds and again at 40 seconds into the round, if the central ball has been disturbed, another ball will be released from above onto the platform.

Scoring

  • Each match lasts 60 seconds, during which time the robots attempt to score points. When time has expired, the robot with the most points wins.
  • No human intervention is allowed during the match.
  • Robots must conform to all requirements listed in the course notes.

The score that each robot receives is determined by the final state of the contest table after the match has been played. The robot that has the most balls on its side wins the match. Balls left in the central strip do not count toward the score of either robot, regardless of the color of the table beneath them.

In the case that there is a tie, robots which at any point did something during the match that directly improved their score instead of preventing the opposing robot from scoring receive a win, and those that did not receive a loss. Thus, in a tied situation, a double-win, double-loss, and a single win are all possible outcomes.